RAMALLAH, West Bank Weeks ahead of Israeli elections, Palestinian officials are already plotting a series of tough steps against Israel to be taken if, as polls predict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is re-elected and peace efforts remain stalled.

JERUSALEM Israel's prime minister and defense minister ordered the military to go on alert to prepare to attack Iran's nuclear program two years ago, but backed off following opposition from top security officials, an Israeli news show reported Monday night.

Iran's president accused Israel and the West of being behind a pair of daring bomb attacks that killed one nuclear scientist and wounded another in their cars on the streets of Tehran on Monday. He also admitted for the first time that a computer worm had affected centrifuges in Iran's uranium enrichment program.

An official Palestinian report claiming that a key Jewish holy site -- Jerusalem's Western Wall -- has no religious significance to Jews evoked an angry response from Israelis Wednesday, threatening to further inflame tensions over the disputed city.

Hezbollah supporters used mosque loudspeakers Thursday to rally crowds ahead of a trip by Iran's president to southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, a visit the U.S. and Israel have called intentionally provocative.